Obama and guns
“Gun owners in Pennsylvania, which has the highest per-capita National Rifle Association membership in the nation, could provide Sen. Barack Obama with a key inroad to rural white voters who have so far backed Sen. Hillary Clinton,” Paul Bedard writes in the Washington Whispers column at www.usnews.com, citing gun advocates.
” ’The gun vote matters,’ says Ray Schoenke, founding president of the American Hunters and Shooters Association. And in Pennsylvania, he says, gun owners who follow key Washington legislation aimed at limiting ownership are moving in Obama’s direction because of his support of past legislation to prohibit the use of federal money to confiscate weapons during a disaster like Hurricane Katrina. It’s the only major difference on gun positions between Obama and Clinton, according to gun advocates, but it’s enough for groups like Schoenke’s to give the Illinois senator a passing grade.
“Schoenke, whose group takes a moderate approach to guns, such as endorsing gun show background checks, says Obama’s support for the legislation suggests that the senator is high on individual rights. He also says the issue could be a key one in Pennsylvania, where Obama is chipping away at Clinton’s lead.”
Condi and Michelle
“Why does Condoleezza Rice hate America?” Kirsten Powers asks in an opinion piece in the New York Post.
“The secretary of state told [editors and reporters at The Washington Times] last Thursday that America has a ’birth defect.’ She went so far as to criticize our nation’s very founding, calling it ’not a very pretty reality.’ See, we had slaves, and said Rice, ’descendants of slaves did not get much of a head start, and I think you continue to see some of the effects of that.’
“Of course, Rice doesn’t hate America. But her remarks were a lot like those that left Michelle Obama on the receiving end of a hurricane of recriminations from the patriotism police — who stand at the ready, poised to shout down any Democrat who suggests America is or ever has been anything less than perfect,” the columnist said.
“The outrage last week was over Mrs. Obama’s comments to a group of college students that they should make an effort to take advantage of their diverse community rather than holding on to their ’own stereotypes and misconceptions.’ She said that sometimes ’you feel justified in your own ignorance. That’s America.’
“This hardly seems any more damning than Rice’s comment that America has a ’birth defect’ … yet in Obama’s comments, conservatives saw more evidence for their case that she isn’t a patriot.”
Klobuchar pick
Sen. Barack Obama won over another freshman senator and high-profile superdelegate, getting an endorsement yesterday from Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, reports Christina Bellantoni of The Washington Times.
Mrs. Klobuchar said she is backing her Illinois colleague over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton because “continuing to stay silent would be awkward,” she told reporters during a conference call.
She cited the big crowds he attracted before winning Minnesota’s caucus by 34 points, and said the “enthusiasm and idealism” she witnessed at his events was “simply impossible to contain.” Mrs. Klobuchar called Mr. Obama a “new kind of leader” who can “dissolve” the cynicism of the Bush administration and who offers a “new perspective.”
She also called Mrs. Clinton of New York a “friend,” saying she hopes the primary contest continues, calling it a blessing that the Democrats had two such candidates.
“I believe that Senator Clinton has every right to continue her campaign,” Mrs. Klobuchar said, after a weekend during which many Obama supporters called for his rival to end her bid.
She said she withheld her endorsement for a while, but ultimately: “Between Barack and a hard place, I chose Barack.”
Firmly indecisive
The United States was for slavery “before we were against it.”
That history lesson was brought to you by Sen. John Kerry, who argues that if an entire nation can be indecisive about human bondage, voters surely should forgive a political leader who changes his or her mind.
“Decisiveness wrongly applied can create a lot of pain for the nation and big, big historic mistakes,” says the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee labeled a “flip-flopper” by President Bush.
Four years after his unsuccessful run, Mr. Kerry sat down with Associated Press reporters for more than 30 minutes to discuss the history and practice of decisiveness in U.S. politics. Mr. Kerry said the political system has trivialized decisiveness “in regrettable ways that don’t do justice to the complexity of the choices that we face.”
And then there’s the matter of the U.S. Constitution and slavery, a blatant bit of flip-floppery.
“Slavery was written into the Constitution before it was written out,” Mr. Kerry said with a grin, before paraphrasing his infamous remark on Iraq war funding. “So America was for it before we were against it.”
School days
Comedian Stephen Colbert, who flirted with a run for the presidency last fall, is not going to be happy, Christina Bellantoni of The Washington Times writes in her “On the Democrats” blog.
Mr. Colbert, who hosts “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central, challenged supporters of Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to hold their primary by donating to Pennsylvania schools through nonprofit DonorsChoose.org.
When Mr. Colbert attempted to run for president in South Carolina, his fans raised $66,000 for Palmetto State schools. Mr. Obama’s supporters have already trumped Mr. Colbert — bringing in more than $91,000 for Pennsylvania students as of last night, Ms. Bellantoni writes at washingtontimes.com.
DonorsChoose reported that 1,321 people donated in Mr. Obama’s name, while just 122 donated in Mrs. Clinton’s name to the tune of $15,000. Many fans used the Obama campaign blog to raise the money, with one writing:
“So far, Obama supporters are out-donating Clinton supporters! Let’s show Pennsylvania voters Obama’s superior coattails. And get some good publicity from Stephen Colbert.”
“The results so far don’t necessarily suggest who will win Pennsylvania’s April 22 primary. But it does give a hint of whose supporters are bigger Colbert fans,” Ms. Bellantoni writes. “Clinton will appear Thursday night on ’The Tonight Show’ with Jay Leno.”
• Greg Pierce can be reached at 202/636-3285 or gpierce@washingtontimes .com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.